BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Jesuit Order released a list of abusive priests and there were eight priests from Western New York who were on the list.
Among the priests on the list includes Rev. Cornelius Carr, who worked at Canisius High School in the 1960's. Carr was on a list of accused priests released by the Archdiocese of New Orleans in November after multiple allegations of sexual abuse. Jesuits Central and Southern estimated the timeframe of abuse in the 1970's and 1990's. He was removed from Ministry in 2005 by the New York Province. Former Canisius High School President Vincent Mooney is also on the list. Mooney is accused of raping a girl in the 1960s inside his office in the school in a story detailed this week on Channel 7.
"Although we are still deeply saddened about the serious nature of the incidents reported above, with the exception of Fr. Fullam, none of the incidents involved a Canisius High School student," Canisius High School said in a statement. "If a claim of sexual abuse should ever be made, we would immediately report the incident to law enforcement. Canisius High School would fully cooperate with the investigation."
The priests accused of abuse locally had ties to Canisius College, Canisius High School, St. Ann Church, and St. Michael's Parish.
"Canisius College had no knowledge of any instances of sex abuse in the past or at the time either Jesuit was employed at the college," a spokesperson for Canisius College said through a statement. The College added that the priests in question "had no report of any sex abuse during their time at the college after their departure."
Speaking to WBEN, the Jesuit Province said that the names were released in an effort to be transparent. A spokesperson added that the list includes the name of every priest credibly accused up to present day.
Names on the list include (Bold indicates abuse happened in Western New York)
Denny spent three years at Canisius in the 1990's though none of the abuse allegations against him were from his time there. His abuse allegations from the 1960's and 1970's were substantiated after victims came forward in 2002 and 2012.
Farrand was accused and admitted to abuse in 1961. He taught at Canisius from 1946 to 1949.
Fullam's abuse allegations from 1954 and 1965 were reported in 2009. He worked at Canisius High School from 1953 to 1958 and again from 1972 to 1976.
Gould worked at St. Ann Parish in Buffalo from 1975 to 1983. He abused a minor in 1977 and 1978 and admitted to the abuse when it was reported in 2011.
Mooney worked at Canisius from 1958 to 1974 and was accused of the abuse by minors during his time there.
Scanlon worked at Canisius College from 1976 to 1980 but was never accused of abuse during his time there. He admitted to the abuse of minors from 1985 to 1994.
Bishop Richard Malone spoke at Tuesday's kickoff for the Catholic Charities appeal, and he says that anytime there's news about abuse or abuse within the clergy it's a difficult process, but it's also necessary.
"The fact it's been painful, but the fact that this has come out into the light is the only way that we can move forward and be purified and renewed," said Malone. "There has to be that transparency that's been missing in the past."
"At the heart of this crisis is the painful, sinful and illegal harm done to children by those whom they should have been able to trust," the Rev. John J. Cecero, the top official for the province, said in a statement, adding, "We did not know any best practices to handle these violations many decades ago and regrettably made mistakes along the way."
The list includes priests who served in Jesuit high schools and colleges throughout New England, New York and northern New Jersey.
Leaders of several universities where accused priests have served released statements in response to the list.
"We are heartsick that the shadow of the crisis within the larger Catholic community has been cast upon our University, and deeply troubled by the very real possibility that there are still survivors whose accounts of abuse we have not yet heard," said the Rev. Joseph McShane, president of Fordham University.
Linda LeMura, president of LeMoyne College in Syracuse, said, "We deeply regret any abuse that occurred on our campus. We encourage survivors and any member of our community to reach out to the resources available to you and to report sexual harassment, misconduct or abuse allegations to these resources and to law-enforcement agencies as appropriate."
The list released Tuesday includes James Talbot, a former priest and high school teacher who pleaded guilty last year to charges that he sexually assaulted a boy in the 1990s in Freeport, Maine. Talbot's accuser said in court in September, "To this day, I remember the steps leading inside the church as if they were guiding me to hell."
Another former priest, James Kuntz, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court in New Jersey in 2008.
The Rev. Keith Pecklers, a professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, is the only priest on the list still serving at a Jesuit-run institution. A New Jersey man testified in 2010 that he was abused by Pecklers when Pecklers was 17 and the victim was 14.
A Jesuit spokesman said Pecklers remains active because the alleged abuse happened in his teens before he was ordained. The spokesman said Pecklers is monitored in Rome and in not allowed access to minors.
The Jesuit provinces in the other four regions of the United States have previously released their lists of priests who have credibly been accused of abusing minors.
The disclosures by the Jesuits follow the release of lists of hundreds of priests accused of abuse by Catholic dioceses across the U.S.
"Releasing these names publicly is crucial not only for the healing of survivors, but also to encourage victims who may be suffering in silence to come forward and to deter future clergy sex crimes and cover-ups," said Zach Hiner, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in an email.
"Still," he said, "the fact remains that this is a long-overdue move prompted only by pressure from prosecutors, parishioners and the public."
USA Northeast Province Released the Following Statement